Haggerston couple log more than 100 noise complaints over waste site – ‘with no improvement’

Residents living opposite a waste processing facility in Haggerston say more than a year of complaints to Hackney Council and the site’s operator has failed to stop overnight noise that is repeatedly disrupting their sleep.

David Robinson and Alexandra Ellis-Jones, who have lived on Pearson Street for around five years, say the disturbance started about 15 months ago, when a vacant site opposite their home began operating as a waste processing facility used by London recycling company First Mile.

The couple say they have submitted 103 complaints through Hackney Council’s noise reporting service since March 2025, but that neither repeated discussions with the company nor correspondence with the council has led to a significant or lasting improvement.

“There are trucks throughout the day,” Robinson told the Citizen. “Then through the night it’s mainly the cargo bikes they use. There’s smashing, thumping, people shouting – we basically hear it all.”

Their bedroom overlooks the site, which they say sits beneath a railway arch that amplifies the sound.

‘No improvement’

“It’s really frustrating that we’re following the right procedure – logging complaints, reaching out to councillors, asking the company if there’s something they can do – and there’s just absolutely no improvement,” Robinson said.

The couple say they are woken by activity from the site several nights a week.

“Both me and my girlfriend are quite light sleepers,” Robinson said. “Just as you’re falling asleep, another bike comes along. Before you know it, you’ve not slept for four hours.

“If you imagine that happening three times a week for 15 months, it just begins to really take a toll on you.”

The couple’s own analysis of their complaint log suggests around 68 per cent of incidents began between midnight and 6am, with a typical start time of around 2.10am.

Complaints consistently describe glass smashing and tipping, banging, machinery, truck movements, reversing alarms and staff shouting, with disturbances lasting between five and 15 minutes and recurring throughout the night.

Cycle of complaints

The residents say their dealings with First Mile and Hackney Council have followed a repeating pattern: complaints are acknowledged, improvements are promised, conditions briefly improve, and then the disturbance resumes.

Robinson says the only update since a meeting with First Mile in April 2026 was that a “permanent solution” was being developed – with no timetable or details given.

He says a promised overnight visit by council officers to witness the noise never took place, and that further discussions with the council have not resulted in a resolution.

Residents were asked to continue recording incidents through noise diaries, while a request for sound-recording equipment to be installed at their home was not taken forward, Robinson says.

Videos and photographs taken by the couple suggest the problem extends beyond overnight noise. Footage shows vehicles idling outside their house, and rubbish left at the site spilling into the street.

Robinson says other neighbours have reported similar concerns.

“There are people on our local WhatsApp group who are experiencing difficulty sleeping as well,” he said. “They’re also frustrated with the way the trucks are driven through the street.”

The residents do not dispute the site’s legal right to operate, but argue that overnight waste processing is incompatible with its residential surroundings.

The council said the site has been designated for storage and distribution since the 1970s, and that the Environment Agency has confirmed the operator holds the necessary permissions to run a waste facility there.

‘We are only able to take formal enforcement action if we directly witness noise’

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “We understand the frustration that neighbours have had around noise from the First Mile waste disposal site on Ormsby Street. We have been in regular contact with those who have raised concerns and have visited First Mile directly to discuss the issues.

“We are only able to take formal enforcement action if we directly witness noise nuisance from within a neighbouring property – something that residents experiencing the issues have unfortunately not provided.

“We are now encouraging those affected to complete a log of any ongoing noise disturbance, and we will continue to work with First Mile and its neighbours to try and resolve any ongoing issues.”

Under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the council can serve an abatement notice only once an officer has personally witnessed the noise from inside an affected home and judged it to amount to a statutory nuisance under section 79(1)(g) of the same Act.

Robinson maintains it was the council that did not follow through, saying the couple asked for officers to attend overnight and for monitoring equipment to be fitted in their flat, and that neither happened.

As of early July 2026, the residents say, no environmental protection officer had witnessed the reported overnight disturbance, no statutory nuisance determination had been made and no abatement notice had been served. A joint meeting between the council and First Mile has been proposed, which the residents have asked to attend.

‘The ideal scenario’

Rather than seeking the site’s closure, the couple say they would like overnight operations to become significantly quieter.

They have suggested reducing overnight cargo bike movements, routing deliveries away from Pearson Street where possible, and limiting noisy activities such as glass handling to daytime hours.

“If they just didn’t process the glass through the night, that would help,” Robinson said. “Or if they just stopped operating through the night, that would be the ideal scenario.

“We just don’t want to be hearing the noise throughout the night, whatever they need to do to achieve that.”

Night shifts ‘to end’ – in 2027

In information passed on by the council, First Mile said it had placed an order for an electric vehicle fleet, and that once those vehicles were deployed its night operations would transfer to north-west London, ending night-shift working at the site. The vehicles are expected to arrive in early 2027, the company said, though it was possible that could be brought forward.

The company also said it had approached a specialist contractor, due to visit the site to assess and price soundproofing measures, and would consider the recommendations once that assessment was complete. In the meantime, it said it remained committed to managing its operations carefully and to minimising the noise impact on nearby residents while the longer-term measures were delivered.

First Mile was approached directly for comment.